Device for locking nuts or like threaded members on bolt shanks



Oct. 31, 1944. F. w. BERRY 2,361,814

DEVICE FOR LOOKING NUT 0R LIKE THREADED MEMBERS ON BOLT SHANKS Filedbec. 1, 1942 /NvE/vro)e FEEDER/CK 14/. BEIERJ/ Patented Oct. 31, 1944 DEVICE FOR LOOKING NUTS R LIKE THREADED MEMBERS ON BOLT SHANKS' Frederick William Berry, Woodford Green, England.

Application December 1, 1942, Serial No. 467,525

In Great Britain December 24, 1941 2 Claims.

This invention concerns improvements in or relating to devices for locking a nut or like threaded member such as a sleeve onto a bolt shank. The invention is especially intended for use as a lock nut device in aeroplane andenginc construction and in all mechanisms and constructions which are subjected to vibration and load or to movement at high speed. The primary object of this invention is to provide a device which is simple to fit and remove and which en sures a positivelook by providing a plurality of locking elements, which do not however, weaken or strain the bolt shank nor impos lateral stress upon the threads. A further object is to provide a device which can be utilised for a multiplicity of.purposes, and one having visible means for indicating that the device isproperly set in locked condition. Other objects, will be apparent from the following specification.

The term nut which is used in the following specification and claims is to be understood as including not only a nut proper but any other-de- Vice which is. adapted to be screwed onto a bolt shank or the like and which is tobe locked thereto. a

According to the invention a nut incorporates lockin means comprising a split sleeve forming a unitary part of said nut and which is internally:

a bolt shank or the like on to which the nut is screwed. a l

Preferably the sleeve is externally tapered substantially in correspondence with the taper of the internally tapered member, and preferably also means is provided for preventing re-lativerotation of the nut and the internally tapered member. Such mean may comprise tonguesor'the like extending from the internally tapered member and recesses formed in the nut, said-tongues fitting into said recesses and being dimensioned to extend beyond the nut when the parts are locked together so as to provide projectionscapa'ble of being struck to forcibly separate the nut and the internally tapered memberJ- Or, said tongues may be utilised, by being bent over, to provide a secondary locking effect in ensuring maintenance oi'locking by the internally tapered member. Preferably also the nut and themternally' tapered member "have hexagonal or other configurations of identical shape and dimensions for simultaneous engagement by a spanner or other manipulating tool.

A nutwith locking means constructed according to a practical embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing wherein: l

' Figure 1 is an elevation of the device shown in locked position and being used for clamping together two workpieces,

Figure 2 is a plan viewof Figure l and showing the internally tapered member in cross section,

Figures 3 and 4 are an end elevation and section respectively of the internally tapered member, and

Figures 5 and 6 are a longitudinal section and a face view respectively of the nut and sleeve member.

Referring to the drawing, a nut I 0 of hexagonal or other configuration is formed on one side with integral laterally-extending portions ll which conjointly form a sleeve split on two diameters which intersect one another at right angles. Or, the splits may be of a number providing a greater or lesser number of sleeve portions II. A screw thread [2 formed through the body ll) of the nut is continued through the sleeve portions H. The sleeve portions II are so formed thatperipheral parts 13 thereof extending for a. short distance from the-body of the nut are parallel to the axis of the sleeve; beyond said parallel. parts the sleeve portions are mutually tapered as indicated by the references l4.

.Forcooperation with the sleeve I I there is provided an internally tapered collar [5, the internal taper lfi thereof substantially conforming to the taper of the peripheral parts H of the sleeve. The. said collar 15 has a hexagonal or other configuration, identical with that of the nut l0. Said collar I5 also is formed integrally with projectlng tongues 11; said tongues are adapted to engage into recesses Hl formed in opposite flats of the nut III. This ensures rotation of the collar and nut as a unitbu-t permits of the collar having sliding movement with respect to the nut. The tongues [1 may be of such a length that when the nut is locked to the bolt as hereinafter described, end portions of the tongues project. from the outer face of nut III as shown in Figure l for the purposes mentioned later.

To use the nut, the tongues H are engaged into the recesses l8, and the nut and its sleeve II are screwed on to a bolt shankv or the like IS, the sleeve ll preceding the nut Ill, the nut In and collar l5being rotated as a unit. A spanner used .for screwing up the nut may also engage over the collar l5, but this is not essential. 'Eventuab ly the collar I5 beds against a workpiece or the like 20. The nut I is now further screwed down, the result being that the tapered surfaces M of the sleeve sections II commence to slide down the tapered internal surface of the collar I due to relative sliding movement of nut II] and collar I5. This effects inward displacement of the said sleeve sections, i.'e. contraction of the sleeve on to the bolt shank I9, the sleeve thus gripping the bolt with an effort governed by the extent of tightening of the nut I0. Thus, firm locking of the nut on the bolt is obtained, and there results a complete unity of the internal and external threads without the imposition of any stretching of the threads of the bolt as with an ordinary lock nut. The end portions of the tongues I1 which now project beyond the nut I, therefore constitute anvil portions which may be conveniently struck by a tool when it is desired to forcibly separate the members II in releasing the nut. Or, the end portions of the tongues H which now project beyond the nut III, may be turned over inwards and this will hold the collar I5 in its set position relative to the nut l0 thereby providing a secondary locking effect in ensuring maintenance of the locking bythe internally tapered collar I5.

If tongues I1 and receses I8 are not provided, or if provided, are not utilised to provide a secondary locking effect, the angle of taper of the coacting surfaces I4 and I6 may be such as to maintain the locking effect even if the collar I5 does not continue to bear against a workpiece or other abutment. If secondary locking by the tongues I1 is provided for, then such locking is ensured. It is pointed out that the locking effect obtained on the bolt is such that the assembly comprising the parts I0 and I5 is prevented from rotating unintentionally in either direction.

When it is desired to release the nut, then,.

assuming the collar I5 has been bearing against a workpiece such as 20, the nut I0 (with collar I5) is screwed back along the bolt shank Whilst still gripping same. When a sufiicient space exists between collar I5 and the workpiece 20, the collar I5 is driven in a direction away from the nut III, thereby to release the grip of the sleeve II on the bolt shank. If the tongues I1 are provided and project beyond the nut II] as above explained, then after being bent back to their original position (assuming they have been bent down) they can be struck with a hammer to drive back the collar I5. As an additional or alternative facility for driving back the collar I5, opposite corners of the nut II] may be cut ofi as indicated by reference 2|, thereby to expose corner portions of the collar l5 to enable the latter to be driven back by striking a spanner placed with its jaws against the faces 2|, and pressed on to the said exposed portions of the collar. In, this connection it is pointed out that the width of the nut between the faces 2| is equal to the width across the ordinary flats of thenut, thereby enabling the same spanner as is used for turning the unit to be used for the above operation.

Another manner of providing for forcing back the collar l5 in the case when the nut and collar pass into a recess (in which the nut has to be manipulated by means of a box-spanner) consists in forming the collar I5 at its work-contacting end with an externally-projecting flange whichcan be struck by any suitable tool passed into the recess.

Although the device comprises two component parts, these are manipulated as a unit and said unit will be practically as easy to operate as an ordinary nut, the locking effect by the wedge action taking place automatically when tightening the nut. A feature is that, when the gripping action on the bolt shank produced by the wedge action exceeds a certain value, the resistance to further relative sliding movement of the nut sleeve and collar I5 will result in the collar tending to advance as a unit with the nut I 0 towards the workpiece to increase the clamping pressure thereon, (the compound unit then momentarily functioning as an ordinary nut) until the clamping pressure resistance exceeds the wedge-action resistance, when a stronger grip on the bolt shank will obtain. Thus balance is obtained between clamping pressure and bolt grip, the latter increasing proportionately with the former. After final hard tightening, the compound unit cannot be moved in either direction along the bolt shank except by applying great force with a spanner.

The tongues I! in addition to serving for the purposes aforesaid, provide visible indication as to the nut being in a locked condition,

The compound unit can be used in reverse manner (i. e. the nut I0 preceding the collar l5 and contacting the workpiece 20) by utilizing a spare ordinary nut which is screwed on to the bolt shank to follow up behind collar I5. Rotation of this spare nut relative to the main nut It! will set up the locking effect by the wedge action, the protruding portions of tongues II. (if provided) being then turned over to maintain the parts in locked position, and the compound unit being then screwed home.

It is pointed out that the construction illustrated and above described is put forward by way ofexample only, and that various modifications and additions may be made without departing from the scope of theinvention. For instance, as already stated, it is not essential to provide means such as the tongues I"! and recesses I8 for compelling the collar I5 to rotate with the nut. As an alternative to providing the tongues I! on the collar I5, there may be provided a washer adapted to fit on the bolt shank and to take up a position between the collar I5 and workpiece 20, said washer having a pair of tongues adapted to be bent down to bed into aligned notches formed in the peripheries of the collar I5 and nut ID, that is to say, notches similar to the notches I8 shown in the drawing. The nut ID, if so desired, may be in the form of a wing nut adapted to be tightened by hand. An alternative means of preventing relative rotation of the collar and nut consists in so forming the sleeve I I that same has a polygonal or other non-circular cross section, the cavity I6 in the collar being shaped to correspond. A further modification consists in forming the sleeve II of uniform diameter or width throughout its length instead of same tapering as shown; in this case said sleeve may or may not be formed with a peripheral rib for contact with the tapering cavity I6 of collar I5. Further, the taper may be more acute or less acute than in the construction illustrated. For instance, if the members II and I5 are thin it may be necessary for the taper to have a steeper angle and in this case it may be necessary to utilise the tongues I! to provide for secondary locking if the collar I5 is not to be maintained against a workpiece; that is to say, the invention is not limited to forming the taper at such an angle that the taper alone will maintain locking on the bolt if there is no abutment such as the workpiece 20.

Secure locking is ensured by the cumulative effect of the several elements which are provided for obtaining the wedge action. Greater force is necessary to draw the nut away from a workpiece than was required when screwing up, and it is pointed out that in order to release the nut, the compound unit may be forced back bodily and the grip by the wedge action must be subsequently broken. Prior to breaking down the wedge grip, the unit will remain equally tight on a bolt shank after forcing said unit away from a workpiece.

The device can be used repeatedly and will not damage the male thread since it only effects a contracting grip and does not impose lateral strain on the thread. i

I claim:

1. A lock nut construction for bolts having threaded shank, comprising, in combination, a nut element provided with opposite recesses and including a split sleeve forming a unitary part of said nut, said sleeve being internally threaded in continuation of the screw thread formed in the unsplit body of the nut and the said sleeve being also externally tapered, and an internally tapered collar adapted to Slide on the external taper of said sleeve and contract the same so that said sleeve firmly binds on the bolt shank, the body of the nut and the internally tapered collar each having spanner engaging portions capable of simultaneous engagement by the same spanner, said collar being provided with tongues adapted to engage in said recesses of the nut element, and said tongues serving to interlock the collar and the nut for initial rotational movement on the shank of the bolt, and the outer ends of said tongues when projecting beyond the face of the nut being bendable over the latter to provide secondary locking means for maintaining the nut and sleeve together.

2. A locking nut construction for bolts having a threaded shank, comprising, a multi-faced nut element including a nut head and a split externally tapered sleeve having internal threads for engaging the threaded shank of the bolt, said nut headhaving recesses at opposite faces thereof, a collar having a tapered opening for receiving the tapered split sleeve, and tongues carried by the collar and adapted to fit into said recesses, said tongues being of sufllcient length to project beyond the outer face of the nut head when the locking nut construction is applied to a workpiece and presenting anvil end portions when the locking nut construction is to be removed from the bolt whereby they may receive a hammer blow to separate the collar from the sleeve of the nut element, thereby, to facilitate removal thereof from the bolt shank.

FREDERICK WILLIAM BERRY. 

